The 'I survived SDL's Opening Day' TR!

[zanzibar138]

Booked into TSH yesterday- Sept 18th and 19th. So excited! Did you stay there as well, Zanzibar? Sorry, I should scroll back through, but 6 long pages..............!
Keep it coming, though- we love it.
We're planning on getting our tickets from TSH. Good idea? I'm prepared to go by myself if DH doesn't want to go. I'll just get ideas from you, and anyone else who posts up in the meantime.

Yay how exciting!

Yep, I stayed at the Toy Story Hotel my second night. Loved it - was so cute and fun! I can't see any issue with getting your tickets from the hotel, just means one more thing to do when you check in, but if you won't be in a big hurry it doesn't really matter.

Actually I did read on someone's blog (can't remember which one now), that when they got their ticket through the hotel, it was actually attached to their room key. This had some repercussions for FP, as they couldn't use the room key in the FP machines. I think they had to go to Guest Services on the way in, and they could choose 2 FPs for the day to attach to their ticket. In a way, this could actually be a better way of doing it, but it might be worth seeing if you can find some more information if that's what you're planning to do.

Glad you're still enjoying the TR I'll try to pick up the pace a bit and at least try to cover one whole day before your trip lol!

I will check out your post - somehow missed it at the time. Thanks!

No problemo!

 

[zanzibar138]

A Walk to the Park

I had decided earlier that if the weather had improved, I would walk back to the park. I was keen to get some more photos of Wishing Star Park. It looked like the rain had indeed eased off.

I took the cute Mickey themed elevator down to the lobby level (Mickey greets guests in Mandarin). I took a couple more photos as I wandered through the lobby area again. Looking back, I didn’t take anywhere near enough photos of this place!





I spied a little sign to the Hakuna Matata Oasis along my way, so I decided to make a quick detour to check that out.



It was a cute little water play area for kids, with characters from the movie scattered around the area. It was a cute idea, but I’m still not sure how it fit in with the theming of the hotel.







I felt like a real VIP when I was able to use my room key to open the little gate to Wishing Star Park. It felt like I was entering a secret garden!



I liked the large rose garden directly in front of the hotel, and thought it was a really good fit.





I took the boardwalk up to the bridge. There was another regular concrete path you could take as well.



I really loved that they had a glass bottom bridge there! It was so unexpected and a cool detail. There was a regular bridge to the side, for those who weren’t comfortable with the glass option. There was a little sign on the other side with a little story about the bridge, but I have to admit being in a rush to get back to the park, I didn’t read it.







The views over the lake had been better earlier in the day when it was a little less misty. I hadn’t noticed the big Adventure Isle mountain back then though. The castle and Tron dome were also visible from the area.











After a quick stroll through Disney Town, I was back at the park gates again and ready for action!

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Reading along and enjoying your thoughts and musings on the park Thanks again for all your awesome advice!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Very pretty park. I wonder if I could spring just once for the "nice" hotel whenever we get here??????

 

[katt789]

SO incredibly thankful for this TR! We're headed down over to SDL/HKDL/TDL in October and planning the actual park days has been a bit tiresome, esp shanghai since it's so new and there aren't really touring plans or anything for it!! There's so much information here and I LOVE IT! So thank you os much for that!
I'm super excited to explore both the city & the parks
Did you find the air quality to be bad any of the days you were there? Did you track it at all? After talking to some friends working over there I've become more concerned lol.
The park looks BEAUTIFUL, I'm seriously so excited to see it all in person!
Would you say Tron would be the best thing to do first? Or head the opposite side to like, Adventure Isle/Soarin and that stuff? We've got 3 full days in the park, so we can start on one side one day and the other next I guess lol.
The parade is such a cluster eff, like, I was thinking about it the other day and how the only princesses are Rapunzel & Frozen (both you were looking familiar and beautiful in your pics lol)
What camera/editing do you use on your photos?
Can't wait to keep reading!

 

[distravel]

Zanzibar138,

Thanks for report and all the great pix. It is really helpful for planning our day in the park in October. Would it be crazy (or even possible since you have to show your passport) to just buy two entry tickets to double our fastpasses so we can finish the park in one day?

 

[zanzibar138]

Reading along and enjoying your thoughts and musings on the park Thanks again for all your awesome advice!

You're very welcome

Very pretty park. I wonder if I could spring just once for the "nice" hotel whenever we get here??????

I think you could convince DH to splurge on the nice hotel. However FWIW the Toy Story Hotel was very reasonable as well, and a lot of fun!

SO incredibly thankful for this TR! We're headed down over to SDL/HKDL/TDL in October and planning the actual park days has been a bit tiresome, esp shanghai since it's so new and there aren't really touring plans or anything for it!! There's so much information here and I LOVE IT! So thank you os much for that!
I'm super excited to explore both the city & the parks
Did you find the air quality to be bad any of the days you were there? Did you track it at all? After talking to some friends working over there I've become more concerned lol.
The park looks BEAUTIFUL, I'm seriously so excited to see it all in person!
Would you say Tron would be the best thing to do first? Or head the opposite side to like, Adventure Isle/Soarin and that stuff? We've got 3 full days in the park, so we can start on one side one day and the other next I guess lol.
The parade is such a cluster eff, like, I was thinking about it the other day and how the only princesses are Rapunzel & Frozen (both you were looking familiar and beautiful in your pics lol)
What camera/editing do you use on your photos?
Can't wait to keep reading!

So glad to hear you're getting so much out of it! I'm going into a lot more detail than usual because I know the information around on logistics etc is still pretty vague. I'm pretty familiar with HKDL too, so yell out if you have any questions about that - I know it can be hard to find much information on that too.

I didn't have any problem with the air quality. You can probably see by my photos that it was quite hazy that first day in the park, but it didn't cause me any problems. I don't have any respiratory conditions though - I would recommend taking precautions if anyone in your group does. I didn't track it or anything either, so have no idea whether I was actually reasonable quality or not. Not sure whether your friends work in Shanghai or elsewhere, but apparently Shanghai is not as bad as other cities being as it's close to the coast.

The park is seriously beautiful. Disney have done an amazing job with the theming and level of detail on this one

I would concentrate on Adventure Isle first on your first day. Be there for rope drop, head straight to FP for Soaring, and then directly to Roaring Rapids. Having said that, Roaring Rapids may not be as popular when the weather's not as warm. It's also worth considering doing SDMT first if you're interested in that - FPs were running out pretty quick and standby waits were long all the time. I'd save Tron for your second FP for the day. They didn't seem to go as fast, and the later you leave it, the more chance you'll have of getting a night time FP!

My camera is a Sony HX90V - I love it! It's the perfect size, but has an awesome zoom and takes really good quality shots, even at night. Funny story with my photos... I have been using Photobucket for all my DIS pictures, but I ran out of storage space, so I tried out Flickr. I noticed that there was an editing tool built in, so I've been going a bit nuts trying it out. I don't usually edit my photos, but I'm liking how some of them have turned out It's taking ages to get through them all though, so I've been trying not to hold up the TR too much by just uploading the originals and then editing the posts afterwards when I've edited the photos (which is why you'll notice some posts have edited photos and some not).

Zanzibar138,

Thanks for report and all the great pix. It is really helpful for planning our day in the park in October. Would it be crazy (or even possible since you have to show your passport) to just buy two entry tickets to double our fastpasses so we can finish the park in one day?

Hmm, I'd never considered doing that! I suspect you would have trouble activating a second set of passes. The only way I can think of to do it would be to enter through the turnstiles, then immediately exit and enter the park again through a different set of turnstiles with your second lot of tickets. Seems like a lot of bother and expense though. Honestly, I would just take what FPs you can get and focus on enjoying the park. It would definitely be possible to do all the major rides in one day if you timed it right, utilised SR, and were willing to wait for some attractions. Based on my experience, here's what I would plan.

Be at the gates at least an hour before opening so that you can be one of the first ones through.
Get FPs for Soaring
Ride Roaring Rapids
Do the Challenge Trails
Get FPs for Tron
Ride Buzz Lightyear
Do the castle walkthrough
Ride SDMT with SR
Get FPs for Peter Pan if any are left
Ride Pirates (using SR if available)
Watch Pirates stunt show
Explore walk through attractions in Treasure Cove
Watch Tarzan show
Watch parade
Explore Alice's maze
Ride any 'secondary' rides if there's a short wait and you have time (Winnie the Pooh, Hunny Pot Spin, Jet Packs etc)
Find a spot for Ignite the Dream and watch
Ride Pirates (using SR if available)
Finish out the evening in Fantasyland, ride Peter Pan if you haven't already and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto

You'd be pretty much on the go the whole time, and that doesn't account for shopping, eating or resting, but I still think it could be doable.

 

[distravel]

Hmm, I'd never considered doing that! I suspect you would have trouble activating a second set of passes. The only way I can think of to do it would be to enter through the turnstiles, then immediately exit and enter the park again through a different set of turnstiles with your second lot of tickets. Seems like a lot of bother and expense though. Honestly, I would just take what FPs you can get and focus on enjoying the park. It would definitely be possible to do all the major rides in one day if you timed it right, utilised SR, and were willing to wait for some attractions. Based on my experience, here's what I would plan.

Be at the gates at least an hour before opening so that you can be one of the first ones through.
Get FPs for Soaring
Ride Roaring Rapids
Do the Challenge Trails
Get FPs for Tron
Ride Buzz Lightyear
Do the castle walkthrough
Ride SDMT with SR
Get FPs for Peter Pan if any are left
Ride Pirates (using SR if available)
Watch Pirates stunt show
Explore walk through attractions in Treasure Cove
Watch Tarzan show
Watch parade
Explore Alice's maze
Ride any 'secondary' rides if there's a short wait and you have time (Winnie the Pooh, Hunny Pot Spin, Jet Packs etc)
Find a spot for Ignite the Dream and watch
Ride Pirates (using SR if available)
Finish out the evening in Fantasyland, ride Peter Pan if you haven't already and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto

You'd be pretty much on the go the whole time, and that doesn't account for shopping, eating or resting, but I still think it could be doable.[/QUOTE]

Wow Zanzibar! Thanks for taking the time to share an awesome game plan. I just have to resign myself to the fact that we may not get a chance to do everything and just enjoy the day as it unfolds. Looking forward to the remainder of your trip report.

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

Distravel, I'm only having one day there, and closer to when we leave (early Sept) I'm going to decide what I MUST see or do (Tron is number one, and I hope to do it more than once!!) and make sure I do them. Whatever else is the bonus on top of the day. DH has developed connections in China recently, so maybe I'll get back to do more someday. I'm still looking forward to my one day.
BTW, anyone reading this who is only planning to go to Shangahai Disney, please try and see more of China as well. It's a beautiful country, and it would be a shame to ignore it just because of The Mouse. I'll be on my second trip, and it's just a coincidence that SDL has opened just before we go. (GOOD coincidence!!)

 

[zanzibar138]

Wow Zanzibar! Thanks for taking the time to share an awesome game plan. I just have to resign myself to the fact that we may not get a chance to do everything and just enjoy the day as it unfolds. Looking forward to the remainder of your trip report.

You're welcome I hope it's helpful for you. I agree though, better to prioritise half a dozen attractions that you're really interested in and count anything else as a bonus.

Distravel, I'm only having one day there, and closer to when we leave (early Sept) I'm going to decide what I MUST see or do (Tron is number one, and I hope to do it more than once!!) and make sure I do them. Whatever else is the bonus on top of the day. DH has developed connections in China recently, so maybe I'll get back to do more someday. I'm still looking forward to my one day.
BTW, anyone reading this who is only planning to go to Shangahai Disney, please try and see more of China as well. It's a beautiful country, and it would be a shame to ignore it just because of The Mouse. I'll be on my second trip, and it's just a coincidence that SDL has opened just before we go. (GOOD coincidence!!)

Totally agree. I was pretty bummed I didn't have enough annual leave to spend any more time in China. Next time, I'll definitely see if I can convince DH to come with me and spend at a couple of weeks over there exploring

 

[distravel]

Distravel, I'm only having one day there, and closer to when we leave (early Sept) I'm going to decide what I MUST see or do (Tron is number one, and I hope to do it more than once!!) and make sure I do them. Whatever else is the bonus on top of the day. DH has developed connections in China recently, so maybe I'll get back to do more someday. I'm still looking forward to my one day.
BTW, anyone reading this who is only planning to go to Shangahai Disney, please try and see more of China as well. It's a beautiful country, and it would be a shame to ignore it just because of The Mouse. I'll be on my second trip, and it's just a coincidence that SDL has opened just before we go. (GOOD coincidence!!)

I totally agree that seeing China is the priority with Shanghai Disney as the bonus. We are spending our other extra full day in Shanghai taking a day trip to Suzhou and a Water Town. We would love to spend more time in Suzhou and at Disneyland but don't have enough vacation. Have a great time on your trip in September!!!

 

[Dentam]

I will be in China for two conferences in Shanghai, then going to Beijing for two days, then hopefully to Suzhou and then ending the trip at SDL! Flight leaves early tomorrow morning!! Thanks again @zanzibar138 for all of the great tips!

 

[zanzibar138]

I will be in China for two conferences in Shanghai, then going to Beijing for two days, then hopefully to Suzhou and then ending the trip at SDL! Flight leaves early tomorrow morning!! Thanks again @zanzibar138 for all of the great tips!

Oooh! Tomorrow morning! How exciting! Have a wonderful trip

 

[Dentam]

Oooh! Tomorrow morning! How exciting! Have a wonderful trip

Thank you! Our hosts are taking us to the Oriental Pearl Tower for dinner as soon as we arrive! Then I have to give a talk the next day - hope I'm awake for it! lol

 

[zanzibar138]

Thank you! Our hosts are taking us to the Oriental Pearl Tower for dinner as soon as we arrive! Then I have to give a talk the next day - hope I'm awake for it! lol

Ooh that sounds awesome! Just get some strong coffee into you - you'll be right

 

[zanzibar138]

And Speaking of Tinkerbell

Re-entry to the park was easy (I had been a little apprehensive). There was no line, I just walked up to the nearest turnstile, scanned my pass and went in.



My FP return window had started, but I really wanted to ride Tron after dark, so I thought I’d try to find something else to fill in the time. Since I had no smartphone (and there was no wifi in the park anyway), I made my way to the billboard over near the castle listing all the wait times for the park.



Nothing really stood out, so I decided to take the long way around to Tron through Fantasyland. As I walked past Peter Pan, I noticed that it still had only a 30 minute wait. It would be tight, but given that Peter Pan was so close to Tron I thought it was worth doing. The Peter Pan building was pretty similar to its Anaheim counterpart.



The queue area was better themed though, with sculptures of the characters throughout.







There were other little details like this pirate ship weathervane too.



It was in this queue that I discovered the local way of queuing. The queue area was wide enough for 2 people to stand side by side. So that’s what people did, whether they were in the same party or not. Unfortunately for me, being solo, this meant that it was very easy for people to creep past me. If I wasn’t literally touching the people in front of me, whoever was beside me would see a vacant space there and fill it. I found myself getting annoyed, because I was only just going to have enough time to get to Tron before the end of my FP window, and I was concerned about how much longer I was going to be with all these people squeezing through. It really wasn’t cutting though, just a different way of queuing that I was going to have to get used to. It was a bit of an exhausting time for me trying to actually keep my place in the queue!

I was quite pleased when I finally got to the head of the line and could start to relax. I was loaded into the back of the ship with a small family in the front. It’s always fun being in the front, but the back still offered the same views really.



It’s been a while since I last rode Peter Pan (because it’s usually too long to wait), so I couldn’t tell you exactly what has changed in this version. It’s definitely a more advanced version though, with projection lighting and effects added in to the scenes. It was definitely worth doing, and I would recommend it even if you regularly ride it at a different park, especially given the wait times were often shorter than those in Anaheim!

 

[GusIsaFoxhound]

Oh, I adored Peter Pan at Anaheim last year. Didn't do it on my 2006 visit for the same reason you mentioned- lines much too long. Couldn't believe what I'd missed out on, and am looking forward to doing it at SDL.
Still loving the photos! I have a new camera which seems to work really well, and hope to get some as nice as yours. Was there anywhere you couldn't take your camera? Mine fits into my pocket as well, so will be with me as much as possible.
I was at DL last year with my sister, and want to show her photos of SDL. Who knows, she might come over sometime, too.
Zanzibar, I'm jumping the gun here, but could you walk from TSH to the park? It's one thing I want to confirm in my pre-plan.

 

[Flounder89]

There was no wifi in the park?? The website states there is wifi..
Q.

Is wireless Internet service offered in Shanghai Disneyland?
A.

Yes. Wi-Fi will be available in Shanghai Disneyland and in many other areas throughout Shanghai Disney Resort.

For more information on Wi-Fi availability, please check back in the near future!

 

[Dentam]

A new update, yay! I'm waiting for my first flight to board and this is just what I needed!

 

[helenk]

There was no wifi in the park?? The website states there is wifi..
Q.

Is wireless Internet service offered in Shanghai Disneyland?
A.

Yes. Wi-Fi will be available in Shanghai Disneyland and in many other areas throughout Shanghai Disney Resort.

For more information on Wi-Fi availability, please check back in the near future!

We are in Shanghai Disney now. Wifi in the parks is spotty. We had wifi in queue for Soarin' and I was able to connect over by Tron and the back of the Castle. But in a lot of spots nothing. The Toy Story Hotel has wifi and we have a great connection.